Traffic regulator



June 1o, 1924. A

Filed March c. A. DOYLE TRAFFIC REGULATOR 2 Sheena-Sheet l Jun@ 10,1924;I

C. A. DOYLE TRAFFI C REGULATOR Filed March' 16, 1921 2 sheets-sheen 2 Patented June 10, 1924.

CONAN A. DOYLE, OFI-LOS ANGELES, QA'LIFQIRNIA 'TRAFFIC REGULATOR. Y. i

' f Animation mea nani 16,\19`21..;Sena1rNelissen Z'fo'czZZ toko/nt t may concer/nb Be it :known Ythat I, CoNANADorLm a.

citizen'x ofv ythe United @Sita-tes, residing ,in Los Angeles, county (if-Los Angeles, State oi California, have inventednew Iandusetul .Improvements in Traffic, Regulatorsbof which thefollowing-isa..speciiicatioini ,I lThis invention relates.-y toa device for, -regulating. traiiictand ity-is anoliject ofathe invention to providel asiinpie improved and elfectiv'e device ,of this chanacter.i ,I e

An .Object Qi the invention. sito .pi-@Vide .a device bywvhiclitratlic can *.be `positively regulated and which yillmake it impossible .for persons to disregard the traiiicA regulations. "Thel deviceiifn positively regulating traffic greiiliaids in Pievntineiraii@ 'C011'- aestionandfacnidenie i .i L A, distinctive feature'ot `theginvention VVis the simplicity `and sightliness of.y thel device. T he device is ofsimpleeffectiveiand reliable construction, land-is/:adapted to be arranged so that it-is completely;outot-sight and out-of the'ivay o faall tratiic when not operated. They fact tghatvthe deviceujis `neat and. Sie-litly. iS ,0f Lgina-tI iiiipnrbinfice as. itis particularly desirable Ythat devices used on streets and the like should not make the streets congested or unsightly@ l 'The objects andifeatures of the invention Wjillbe best and more fully` understood ffroni the following detailed description of v,a typi cal embodimentr of "the invention through-Q out which reference is.; had to the 4`;acc0m-y panyingfdreivings inNThiOh-s- I f v Fig, l is :a more or less',diagrannnaticgplan view of, a typicelgstreet intersection show ing a manner f in whichdevicesofA the'presentinvention may be, `arranged to regulate' traffic atastreetiinterseetion;;Fig.2 is an enlarged 'plan :view of the device f-provifded by the invention gf Fig. 3 4is avertical; longi-4 tudinal sectional vieW of the device being a vien? taken --as indicated-byline Bef-Sion F ig. '2; showing; the Lfdevice; in its. do\vn orj unopeijated Vposition ;`*Fig: AfA is lafvieif-fgsiini-- lar to Fig, 3 Vshow-ingthedevioein--its upf or operated fposition ;f Fig., 51 is an :enlarged detail transverse Asectional;wien* v of, the :de-

vice heingjaview taken :asindicated by,

lin'el-f Aon 'Fig'.; `Eig. 26; is-an :electrical d i agram showin g f the E ina-nner; in L which lthe devices'` indicated i-n*Fig.1-r1naygbe connecte-d to; properly cooperate and Fig; 7.-,is a ,view

similar to Fig. 3 fshowinganother ormxof` the invention.

in Fig. l the devices f are.

' operating Inechanism 114:.'

inthe ldrawingsfthe letters .Aqan'd B'fdesqfignate intersection streets onyivghich there are carntracks `10..1For sakenof examplegit is 'essuined that the. trafIic/f-onffbothz-etpeets travels so .that Kall of qtheftratlic .goi'n-'gin one direction keepsto one side of tlielstreet .While all-otl the traffic, goingjinthe'iother direction keeps t0 `the other side/of 4the street. ln such a case if the bodies; of: tratl` tic @ass each other 'tdt-he gleft theyq'vvjill .be-.iii .the Sidesof. the kStreet end will .Inc-ve .in .the directionsindicated the;-y @Flows throughoutV Fig, l. In-the' particulapcase just outlined the trattic on both ystreetswat the intersectionfof ,the 'two streets; may" be effectively regnlatedsby;the:usefofifonr Aole- .1- In the particular; anraneementindinaied rrajnged tr ielselya 0f the .Streets fin. entend? :betiiieen ,the car tracksl() and the edgesjof 'themstleets. ,The invention, lioweveriisznot1ini any way limit-edioi' restrictedtothe: devices bei-ng .of any particularlength; or toty theirbeinggarranged between the .carftaeks andthe edges .of the Street ;r as .it :Will #be `nii-viens; toathose skilled, in l:the art fhow the devices iiniglt `be lextended an'yjdesired -distancef across tl'ie streets and howthey can loe very'easi-ly and simply designed to extendacross carftraeks, and the lik esoi that there willfbe'vno jin,- terfer'ence between tlierninide they-car, (tracks. Further; itis to be :understood that the1 .devices of the present` invention; .are fnotf spe; cificalfly= limited to' u segia't a street intersection ofvthe exact character indicetedlin` 'il nor jto beingiagrianged ata street-,intersection in the specific- ;niainner -indicated iinilig, Vl, and ythat-they -pafrtici'ilar oase herein set.4 forth is merely typical and fonpurposes"joflil; lustrationf il All of the-devices 1l being opera/tively.ianjd structurally @the :sanielfwillf.proceedeto de: Scribe. only :one f of: them .inzzdetail and will then proceed to :describe Y12x-Ina nnerk in which sevenfaleof `them may be :interconnected :t0 cooperate in -regulating-t1affiG-nt1a Streetfin tersectieng-,orthe like.` .z l.. jflhedei'fceall'rnonnrises,generallyyaL-ieas ing 12, aftraifi "controlling 'member orion-r rief l'foperatngmechanism lli'forfthefbare rier 13,1- and Lpower gmea-ns l5 -vtoactuateythe comprises a hodyfpart 17adaptedf;,to `.be buried, 'orf set` down in", a street, and v.-aftop The .casing 12V or cover plate 18 adapted to be arranged over the body 17 and be lush or even with the surface O the street. rlhe body 17 may be split longitudinally into two sections each formed with a flange 19. rlhe two sections maybe secured together by bolts 2O arranged through the flange 19. rlhe flange 19 preterably extends inwardly into the casing 12 so that the bolts 2O are accessible from the `inside or" the casing. lilith this construction it is possible to easily and quickly remove the body 17 of the casing from the street by detaching or removing the bolts 2O and then removing the two sections of the body 17 one after the other. In ordinary cases the cover plate 18 is a fiat smooth plate removably secured to the body 17 by bolts 21a. lt will be understood, of course, that the casing 12 may be of any design or construction to meet any particular circumstance or condition and that it may be made in various numbers of parts and out of various suitable materials.

The barrier 13 is preferably a comparif atively long flat member arranged vertically in a slot Y21 formed longitudinally in the cover plate 18. Normally the barrier eX- tends downwardly into the body 17 of the casing so that its upper edge 22. which is preferably dat and smooth, is flush with the top surface of the cover plate 18. rlhe barrier fits more or less loosely in the slot 21 so that it can be moved vertically from its normal position, just described, to a position where it entends or projects a considerable distance above the cover plate, shown in Fig. a of the drawings. rlhe barrier 13 may be guided and braced to move truly vertically by guides 25 secured to the side walls of the body 17 by bolts 26, by the end wall 27 of the body 17, and by a transverse guide part 28 formed in the body 17.

The barrier 13 is proportioned so that when y it is in its eXtreme upper position, as shown in Fig. 1l, sufficient ot' it is still within the casing 12 to prevent its being removed from the casing by a shock or jar such as might be caused by a vehicle running into it. Fig. 4: of the drawings clearly illustrates how a considerable amount of the barrier 13 is within the casing 12 when it is in its up position. When the barrier is down or within the casing, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, it is completely out of sight and allows vehicles of all descriptions to pass over the device without interference or inconvenience. However, when the barrier 13 is up as shown in Fio. l of the drawings it is visible and positively prevents vehicles from passing the device. ln practice the barrier may be designed to extend about 8 er 10 inches above the cover plate 18 thus malring it impossibleor a vehicle to bump or pass over it without sustaining considerable damage. llVhen the barrier is up or is moving up it is extremely conspicuous to persons approaching it as it is directly ahead of them and is obviously a positive barrier which cannot be passed. lt will be understood, of course, how the barrier may be painted or otherwise treated to be particularly conspicuous up, and how it can be equipped with electric lamps 30, or the like, to illuminate it at night. lt it is desirable, or necessary, sharp projections 31 may be provided on the part of the barrier 13 which extends above the cover plate 18 so that vehicles running into the barrier are sure to receive injury. lt is obvious, of course, how recesses 32 may be provided in the cover plate 18 to receive the projections 31 when the barrier is cown. wWhen the barrier 13 is equipped with pio jections 31 persons will be particularly care'- iul not to drive their rvehicles into the barrier and will not attempt to drive over it. The mechanism 111 provided for operati the barriers 13 comprises a member 35 supported on rollers 38, mounted in the bottom of the casing 12, and 'formed with a plu rality oit wedge or inclined surfaces 38. The inclined surfaces 38 are adapted to cooperate with inclined parts 39 at the bottom or lower portion ot the barrier 13. lt is preferred, although not necessary, that rollers Al0 he arranged at the inclined portions oit the barrier 13 to engage the incline surfaces 38 or' the member35 in order to reduce Vfriction between the barrier 13 and the member From inspection of Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings it will be readily understood how the surfaces 38 oi: the member 35 and parts 39 of the barrier 13 cooperate so that the barrier 13 moves from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. il when thc member 35 is moved in the direction indicated by the arro ff* in Fig. 3 from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in F L1. The rollers 36 and 4:0 reduce the friction of the mechanism to a minimum so that it can be very easily operated. ,ln prac tice rollers 50 may be arranged at the ends of the barrier 13 to engage the end walls 27 and the guide part 28 so that he ends of the bar ier will not bind against these parts. In the preferred form of the invention fiat parts 51 are provided at the upper ends of the inclined surfaces 38 to cooperate with flat parts 52 at the lower ends of the inclined parts 39 oitI barrier 13 to hold or support the barrier when the device is in the position shown in Fig. et. lt will be obvious how the barrier 13 will be lowered from the position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 3 upon movement oia the member 35 from the position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 3. Although this particular operating mechanism is only one type of mechanism which may be employed in carrying out the invention it is preferred because it is extremely simple effective motor "The jnotorl 60` yis .a lreversible [meter and sawnnttert with tlmeilbii. thi-oughta rack 6,1,.whichextendsfrom the the marmer .n'vhli the; motor $6.0 iS i011- necteftvith;thefmemtef. through. ,the task and; reducing-gears. SO that the member @an beoperated in either idirection to actuatetlie .barrier la i It'lvll; ,zberfumlelstoedi 0f. @ourse .tlhatanyrsuitable dri-ving contesti@ may be provided between the motor i A605`a1idk member 35 and that the arentQn/is .HQt in :anyway limited vto yan arrangement l or l construction suclig-as issshown in the vc lrawings.A ,Forl stance, the member 35 maybe advantageously operated by fluidvpressure by simply connecting it wlth a piston 65 arranged 1n a cylinder 66 adapted -to-.have fluid pressure admitted into it at opposite ends. Such a construction as this is illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings. The piston 65 may be directly connected with the member 35 by a connecting rod 66 and suitable iiuid pressure conducting pipes 67 may be connected into the ends of the cylinder 66 so that the piston can be moved in either direction.

In the preferred form of the invention an electric gong or bell 70 is arranged in the casing l2 under a portion of the cover plate 18 in which there are openings 71. The bell 7 0 may be connected with a battery 72 by a Wire 73 and by wires 74 and 7 5. The wire 73 connects one side of the battery with one side ofthe bell, the wire 74: connects the other side of the battery with a contact 76 mounted in the casing 12, while the wire connects the other side of the bell with a contact 77 mounted on the rack 61. The contacts 76 and 77 may be arranged to cooperate to close the battery circuit so that the bell is operated during the first part of the movementof the member 35 in actuating the barrier 13. 7ith this arrangement warning is given as the barrier raises so that persons will be fully aware that the barrier is being actuated.

In Fig. 7 another form of alarm is shown. In this case the gong 702L is adapted to be actuated through a trip lever 71a. The trip lever engages projections 72a on the end of the barrier so that it is actuated as the barrier moves up.

In Fig. 6 of the drawing a system is illustrated which may be employed to operate four devices 11 arranged as shown in Fig. 1 so that the two devices on street A operate opposite to thetwo devices on street B.

.. llth thismaraef :at @allestite.tlterlriees l)the tratlic on street is; positively stopped .when the. ltrail von. s'treet `free to @We ,ld lleue-thef `tfat1 0.11. street; B-is resi- '.t-rlyl .Starred uhenitlJs-,trefte .tO-I1. Street. A fis free tovmove. 'Ifhe field windings 8,14 of )thel motors y-GO may energized fromv the s911130@ frltricel energy 80 threuehzthe .mais learhwl'es;82 en dfga the svitcha and the distributing wires and 86. A 'Ihe distributingwires and 86-are arranged so that the-field windings; are all energized with current of thesamepolarity andthe l SWitCll t Sit-iste double.; Nuev-.switch 'arranged .Se that the Pelarty if the current: in; .the .s112585 .aud is, .thesameffcr both.y Qtfits positions. l:The arma-ture,windings of the uniotolfs are 'energized yfromnidtvhe 'source-...of electrical energy 8.0. thrQuglr-,the-.maiil lead wires Silva-rrd 83, thereversingfswitch88 and .the distributing Wires 8.9 andf90- The vdis,- ,tributing wires ,89 and 9K0 areajrrangedl s o that the .almatiu'e f windings 0f. two mQtOrS 60. are snergzetlvth. currentiot aY polarity @preste ...te that. of the,.or11e1:two. liWith this'arrangement when-the switches 84 and 85 are closed two of the motors will operate in one direc-tion while the other two will operate in the other direction. When the reversing switch is thrown from one onposition to the other the polarity of the current in the distributing wires 89 and'90 is changed thus causing all of the motors 60 to reverse in direction of operation. The switches 84C and 88 may be connected with a link 91- so that the-y will operate together. The full lines in Fig. 6 show the switches in an on position and the dotted lines show them in the oif position. It will be obvious how the motors of the several devices shown in Fig. 1 may be connected in the manner just described soV that they will operate as hereinbefore described. The switches may be arranged at any point where they can be conveniently operated, say for instance, at the center of the crossing as indicated in the diagram. It will 'be understood how various arrangements may be provided for connecting the devices of the present invention and how various safety devices may be incorporated in such arrangements so that they will operate accurately and reliably.

I-Iaving set forth a preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to limit or restrict myself to the particular details hereinabove set forth, but wish to reserve to myself any changes or variations that may appear to those skilled in the art or that may fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described a preferred form of my invention, I claim:

1. A trafhc regulating device embodying. a barrier normally positioned below the surface of af street, an inclined part on the barrier, an inclined member adapted to cooperate with the inclined part to move the barrier to extend above the surface of the street, and means Jfor actuating said member.

2. A traiic regulating device embodying, a barrier normally positioned below the surface of a street, a plurality of inclined parts spaced along the barier, a member having a plurality of inclined parts adapted to" cooperate with the first mentioned parts to move the 'barrier to extend above the surface ot the street, and power means -for actuating said member.

3. A traffic regulating device embodying7 a barrier normally positioned below the surf face of a street7 an inclined part on the barrier, a horizontal part on the barrier, an operating member having an inclined part adapted to cooperate with the inclined part on the barrier to operate the barrier vertically and a horizontal part adapted to co-k operate with the horizontal part on the barrier to support the barrier in a position Where it extends above the surface of the street, and means for operating said member.

4. A traiic regulating device embodying a casing adapted to be located below the surface of a street, a cover for the casing having an opening in it, a barrier normally arranged in the casing and adapted to extend through the opening in the cover to project above the surface of the street, an inclined part on the barrier, anoperating' member having an inclined part adapted to cooperate with the inclined part on the barrier to operate the barrier verticallyy and power means for actuating the operating member located in the casing.

5. A trafhc regulating device comprising a vertically reciprocating barrier provided at its upper edge with a plurality of horizontally extending projections, a iixed surface member receivingthe barrier and pro- `iections when the barrier is unactuated so that the surface member barrier and projections form a smooth surface.

Inwitness that I claim the foregoing l have hereunto subscribed my name this '7th day ofMarch, 1921.

CONAN A. DYLE, VVitne'ss':

E.V D. CAVENDER. 

